County Retirement Policy Explained
There is apparently some misunderstanding of the county’s retirement policy for full-time employees. The following is an explanation of how the system works.
All 27 full-time employees are required to pay into a retirement plan. Currently, participating employees pay 7 percent of their salaries into the plan and the county matches that contribution at a rate of 125 percent. So, for every $1 employees contribute, the county puts $1.25 into their retirement plan.
If employees quit, are fired, or withdraw money from their fund, they may have only the money they have contributed to the retirement plan. They may have the county’s contributions only when they are eligible for retirement.
In order to be eligible for retirement, employees must meet both these criteria: 1) they must have worked for the county as full-time employees for a minimum of eight years and 2) they must meet the Rule of 75. In order to meet the Rule of 75, their service time plus their age must equal at least 75. For example, a person who has worked for the county12 years and is 55 years old does not qualify under the Rule of 75 (12 + 55 = 67). (The required years of service time had once been set at ten, but were lowered to eight by the commissioners’ court several years ago.)
Persons who qualify for retirement have access to all the money they have contributed to the retirement plan, plus the matching funds the county has contributed over the years, plus whatever interest has been paid on the funds over time. They may choose to take their retirement money in a lump sum, or to choose from various payout options. If a person dies before collecting all their retirement money, it goes to the designated beneficiary.